If you've followed this circus this week (NBA abbreviated free agency period) you'll notice something is not the way it was a long time ago. It used to be owners owned, general mangers schemed and players played. But it's not like that anymore. For all the ballyhooing of the new labor agreement in the NBA there's a lot that hasn't changed from recent past. Milwaukee and Minnesota have really lousy weather and they're small cities. New York, Chicago and LA are really big cities. Miami has warm weather year-round and don't have state taxes. As for Boston, it's part of the cold, dreary depressing northeast.

It used to mean something to say you were a professional basketball player playing in the city of Boston. Now it seems to carry the same allure as going to play in Montana. It used to be an honor to wear that "Celtics" jersey across your chest. They had 16 banners in the league's first 30 years. But that was a lifetime ago, 25 years to be exact. It doesn't work like that anymore. And frankly, it sucks.

As my esteemed fellow-writer Karl Dillinger has said many times, sports are meant to be fun and anyone who takes them too seriously should be ashamed (paraphrasing Karl). But I can't stress enough just how much of a blow it is to the Celtics and their legacy that Chris Paul was acquired by the enemy of all teams today.

After seeing Miami dismantle Boston in last year's second round, I knew right away what was needed for a reprieve. For another chance at glory. That opportunity has officially passed the Celtics.

When Len Bias was drafted by the Celtics, a big smile lit up his face. He was going to the winningest franchise in the league. It didn't matter that Boston was a predominantly white city in the northeast. Celtic Pride was all that mattered.

I don't think it's a coincidence that the Celtics won 13 titles in the first 35 years of the league and have proceeded to win 3 during the next 28 years with David Stern in charge. Stern's made the league better in many ways but he's undeniably taken the meaning of franchise relevance out of the game. Free agency-galore, players deciding where they will or won't play, who they will or won't be traded for, or where they will or won't sign extensions is absolutely ludicrous. The inmates have officially taken over and are starting to run the asylum.

This lockout was supposed to change things. Give teams an even chance of being successful. Eliminate the albatross contracts. Chris Paul just forced a trade to the Lakers. Mike Dunleavy Jr signed a multi-year guaranteed contract. Tyson Chandler just got $58 million for 4 years. Do those sound like changes? They don't to me. It sounds like the same bullshit that's been going on forever.

Chris Paul oughta be awfully ashamed with himself. Did he know how much the Celtics wanted him? Did he know how Danny Ainge was planning on scheduling a physical for him in Boston because he thought he was on his way? Did he know the Celtics are hanging on by the slimmest of margins as being the team with the most NBA championships? Did he know that the Celtics would have a cap room next year to lure another big free agent? Did he know what it's like to be revered in a city like Boston? Maybe he didn't think of it. Maybe Boston is too cold. Maybe the Celtics legacy is irrelevant.

In closing I do think this gesture undoubtedly means that Ray Allen should get his jersey retired. He accepted a trade to Boston when no one would. Nobody. He convinced Garnett, who in turn convinced Rasheed, Shaq and Jermaine to follow over the years. It'll be a cold day in hell before I watch another basketball game. My passion for following the Celtics and the NBA is done. The life was sucked out of me big time when this happened. But today's the final straw. Call me a sore loser if you want but I'm walking away as a Celtics' fan at the best time possible: the last year they can be considered the greatest franchise in NBA history. So pick up your cape DH-12 and go fly away, leaving Magic fans to groan again. Go to La-La land with CP3 and go have Bean win a few more rings so he can pass MJ allowing more idiots to claim he's the greatest ever. Celtics fans, hang in there and hope that Keyon Dooling or Reggie Evans will make the slightest bit of fucking difference. Because honestly, I stopped giving a shit about NBA basketball at the start of this article.

32 Responses so far.

I Knew you would be the first to say something TB, but this is depressing but true :( At least we as fans know the true value it is to be a true Celtic. Celtics Pride! Keep your head up bro, our time will come.

Ive been a Celtics fan since i was 5 the year 95. I bleed Green and White through and through. The pride the passion the heart isnt going to go anywhere. Till I die i will scream Beat La Beat LA BEAT LA. The odds mean nothing next to UBUNTU. So NEVER give in Never give up and always remember ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE

WHO WANTS THESE LITTLE FAME MACHINES POSING AS BASKETBALL PLAYERS. HAVE WE NO PRIDE.? Celtics pride says f#%k him. He'll never stand up in Fenway get a standing O. Or Gillette stadium. Or have beers with Bob Cousy and you know what that's his bad. He can be buddies with Jay Leno's chin.

dude so the lakers who have no bench got rid of 2 of their 3 best players and got one really good one. the lakers are now wayy undersized and only have 2 stars who need alll the attention to be successful. paul wont like kobe bringing the ball up everytime and never passing. i bet everything i own that the very best the lakers will be is inbetween the knicks and the heat last year which equals no trophy. rondo is one of the best gaurds in the nba and the only real true pointguard left!!!!! and with the big three, and a great bench (green, baby, west, and johnson) the celtics neeeed a true pg. rondo ISSS the team you guys!!! we didnt want paul and we shouldnt care that anyone got him! so what he's with kobe??? the lakers have no defense now other than paul and bynum! absolutely NONE! get ur heads out of your asses and start being REAL fans and not just bandwaggons of the original (other than jordan, pippen, and rodman) big three!!!!

Danny ainge worst gm in history let good people go for nobody he taking a chance with Kenyon dooling when ai said he would come back to play with us but he not going after him go after Richard Jefferson nene like do something positive as a gm dumb fuck

Wow.... You call yourself a C fan? What a pathetic excuse of a writer. Your pissed because we didn't land CP3? Go cry a river - its not the end of the world. Just because he's good and we missed one player dont mean you go and QUIT on your team. I've been a fan of the C's since 98. They did bad how long? Get over it. I AM GLAD. I like Rondo and our odds with him way more than risking a franchise on a shitty knee. Your pathetic.

I've been a Celtic fan since 1969 and I want to go back to the days when players were drafted by the Celtics and spent their whole career in Boston. These days, you don't know the Celtics from one year to the next. Oh for the good old days.

If hoping for a competitive team in the EC is enough for you, go ahead and rip TB. Adding Paul to the big three was the only way to make a serioust run this season. I have always liked Rondo but I can't believe all you geniuses don't consider shooting part of being the top pg.

I think you're wrong. And I do because when the Celtics were winning championships or at least making deep playoff runs, you supported them. I'm an Utah Jazz fan, a team neglected to the small-market-shadows that ONLY TWO TIMES IN ITS HISTORY had real chances to win a championship, but was stopped by Jordan, as everybody knows. And since the Stockton-Malone retirement/departure, how often did you see the Jazz involved in trade/f.a signing rumours? And the Bobcats? The Bucks? The Nuggets? These teams only gain notoriety when their franchise players are going away. So if the Celtics are even making offers for some players, you should already be happy. Cause the only thing that I read involving the subjects 'Jazz' and 'Free Agents' or 'Trades' since the end of the lockout is an interest of the team (shared, probably, with the others 29 at minimum) in signing Nene. And have you ever thought about how this is bad for a team in a rebuilding process?Sorry for my english, I'm brazilian.Cheers

You're pathetic, and an idiot. I'm not saying this as a Celtic, Laker or any other team fan, but a simple fan of the NBA. Have you ever thought Boston hasn't been a destination people want to go to because they have no chance at winning? Look at their team. Whether it is Rondo, Ray, Paul, Kevin, Green and the rest, they are not going to win. Swap Green and Rondo for Chris Paul, they might have a chance for one year with that team. Maybe. And then you either dump the guys who got you a ring in 2008 in hopes that your GM can being multiple guys to Boston, kind of like what just happened in Miami, or you show your loyalty to your old, Boston-loving veterans and continue your playoff flameouts. Boston won because they had good players, they didn't have to entice people to come and they won in a time when the league was not nearly as competitive at the top as it is now. Now when you look at Boston, their time is over. Ray Allen should get his jersey retired? He didn't know he was coming to a championship, he was going from a terrible situation in Seattle to a slightly better situation in Boston. He didn't come for the legacy, he came to leave Seattle. You're point about Chris Paul is possibly the most awful part of all of this. Why the hell should Chris Paul be ashamed of himself? Is it because he wanted to have a better shot at winnig multiple championships, just like you say at the end? Should Paul be ashamed because Danny Ainge is an idiot and set up a physical when New Orleans didn't like the package they were getting compared to what they could get from LAL and Houston? Maybe he should be ashamed of himself because LA is now clearly better than Boston (they were before too) and now has the chance to pass them for the most championships? Why should he give a shit? Did you realize that the Lakers have as much history and as much of a legacy built up as the greatest team in NBA history as Boston does?At the end of the day, how is Chandler getting that much money or Dunleavy getting a garunteed contract their fault? Owners are the ones doing that, Tyson doesn't get to decide where he is going for how much money. End of the day, the owners have to make those decisions. You don't want to watch the NBA because the team you like can't win? Fine by me, just don't make stupid, nonsensical points that make you look like a whiny, useless Laker hater.

You're completely wrong last anonymous. Ray embraced the Celtics tradition from the start. He left a bad situation in Seattle? He had that team as a 6th seed in the playoffs. Get your head out of your ass and put some coherence into your argument.

In the 2006-2007 season the Supersonics finished 14th in the West. So yeah, they were in a pretty shitty situation you moron. I'm sure once he got there and KG came and all the sudden they were a great Celtic team, unlike the crap that had been present for the past 20 years, they said oh yeah, Celtic pride, we're going to bring it back to Boston, great city, great fans and all the usual crap that players feed the media.So besides you being wrong on the one thing you point out, which was an insignificant piece of the larger picture, what else would you like to say? Nothing? Fantastic, because lets face it, the coherence in my hastily thrown together, pissy response makes more sense then the Laker hater (not Boston fan) that wrote this garbage article.

I will admit that i do agree with this article on many ways. Celtics used to be the most prestigious franchise, great young stars wanted to come here, it was just as much, if not more in the conversation as LA or any big mega team was, nowadays though, all these "stars" (Carmelo, CP3, Lebron James, etc) want their shine, to be not in a great and historic franchise and city but to be in a place where they can be Media Whores (NY, LA) you can be a media whore in boston, i mean we have the most championships out of any state in the US and in the entire world, everyone knows who Tom Brady is and Ortiz gets nothing but shine on the Red Sox. But these stars in the NBA are not in it to win it, they're in it to appeal to new, casual fans that are apart of this "Metrosexual Media Whore Movement", the type of mentality that brought "The Decision" on ESPN or has John wall looking like a fucking idiot doing the dougie or any other stupid ass dance. In today's weird ass world, Celtics actually have roots and stand for more than all that, you have to be a real player and want to win, to have Celtic Pride and Ubuntu. Most Importantly, give yourself up for the better of the team and not one of these young stars want to be selfless and see their ass plummet down the stat line, that's just facts

You're all being clouded by a love for the Celtics, which I understand. Obviously you make stupid points and cherish Celtic Pride when each and every other team does as well. It is time to realize that the Pride of Boston basketball hasn't been there for 25 years.Also, your constant use of the Lakers as a media whore city does not reflect the fact that they have as much history and are right there with Boston in terms of prestige and Laker pride (to Laker fans, something Boston fans wouldn't see, just as Laker fans have no understanding of Boston pride).